Triad Track and Field teams each claim podium spots
By Ray Popkess
Not only did both boys’ and girls’ track and field teams take podium spots at the Rantoul Indoor Invite at the University of Illinois Armory this past weekend, a plethora of PRs and school records were set by the Knights.
The boys’ team finished second overall among the 30 teams at the event. The girls finished third overall among the 24 competing teams in their events.
Boys Field Events
Beginning with the shot put, the highest placing Knight was Gavin Dobbs, finishing in 10th out of 56 competitors with a throw of 14.06m (46’ 1.5”). Drayke Williams-Reynolds was close behind him in 18th place with a throw of 13.17m (43’ 2.5”).
Fresh off his senior year of basketball, Mac Musgrave leaped above the rest in the high jump. He set a personal record, finishing in first place clearing a height of 1.95m (6’ 4.75”). While he couldn’t clear the school record of 1.99m (6’ 6.25”), he still beat his previous outdoor record by four inches and was two inches above the IHSA State qualifying height. Jayden Rogers finished in 15th place in the same event, clearing a height of 1.75m (5’ 8.75”), a personal best for the freshman.
In the pole vault, Zane Meier set a personal record, clearing 4.45m (14’ 7.25”) and finishing in third place.
Boys Track Events
Brody Mriscin and Brock O’Toole finished neck-and-neck again in the 60m and seem to be glued at the hip in most of the events they compete in. Mriscin took third place with a time of 7.24s while O’Toole took fourth, separated by only a hundredth of a second.
Camden Geiler was the highest placing Knight in the 60m hurdles, finishing 14th overall out of 36 competitors with a time of 9.45s. Rogers was close behind Geiler in 18th, setting a personal-best time of 9.56s.
O’Toole also took fourth in the 200m with a time of 23.69s. Jayden Howell finished directly behind him with a time of 23.86s.
Silas Thomason and Cody Bagwell both set personal records in the 400m. Thomason finished fourth overall with a time of 52.33s. Bagwell finished 17th overall among 53 competitors with a time of 54.92s.
Samuel Skirball was the lone Knight to compete in the 800m, finishing 14th with a personal-best time of 2:10.46s.
In the 1600m, Caden Meier and Carter Rich both finished in the top-20. Meier landed 16th overall among the 48 athletes in the event with a mile time of 4:48.47s. Rich finished 20th, just a hair faster than five minutes with a time of 4:59.59s.
Perhaps the highlight of the meet, the 4x200m team of Howell, Jacob Odle, Mriscin and O’Toole set a school record with a time of 1:33.55s, a time that earned them the top spot at the invite.
As for the 4x400m relay, Triad finished eighth overall from the efforts of Bagwell, Odle, Ryan Colona and Geiler. Their final relay leg crossed the finish line at 3:41.69s.
Finally, for the 4x800m relay, the team of Grant Jaros, Ben Neuner, Beau Kitzmiller and John Montgomery set a personal best time of 9:19.25s, finishing in 15th overall.
Girls Field Events
Grace Parker and Lily DeMange were Triad’s two competitors in the shot put. Parker’s best throw of 9.18m (30’ 1.5”) earned her a 16th place finish. DeMange’s best throw landed at 8.29m (27’ 2.5”) and put her at 21st overall on the leaderboard.
Addison Williams finished 15th overall in the high jump, clearing 1.45m (4’ 9”) and was the lone competitor for the Knights in the event.
Izzy Stein was also the lone Triad competitor in the long jump. She finished three quarters of an inch outside the top 10 with a leap of 4.45m (14’ 7.25”).
Lily Suter set a personal best in the pole vault, clearing 2.30m (7’ 6.5”).
Girls Track Events
Sophia Schardan and Izzy Stein both finished in the top-5 in the 60m dash. Schardan finished second overall with a season-best time of 7.70s. Stein was close behind in fifth with a time of 7.97s.
Ava Gallia finished fourth in the 60m hurdles with a time of 9.71s, a personal best for the junior sprinter. Stella Noonan finished 16th overall with a time of 10.93s.
Triad’s two competitors in the 200m finished second and third overall. Addie Field finished just ahead of Stein with a time of 25.95s, a personal best. Stein crossed the finish line at 26.02s.
Field also came in third place in the 400m with a time of 1:00.71s, another personal best. Mady Norder finished in seventh place with a time of 1:06.94, also a personal best.
Sage Hardy was Triad’s lone runner in the 800m. The freshman set a personal best time in the event with a 3:07.80s, finishing in 23rd overall.
Brynn Carey set a season best time in the 1600m. She was the last runner to cross the finish line before the six-minute mark with a time of 5:57.47s, finishing ninth.
Emmy Goins was the top long-distance runner in the 3200m. Her two-mile time was 11:40.08s, a personal best. Morgan Mason finished fifth in the same event with a time of 12:57.15s.
Triad’s 4x200m relay team of Gallia, Noonan, Gabby Sanchez and Williams finished fifth overall with a time of 1:53.83s, the fastest time run by the quartet this season.
Gallia, Norder, Noonan, and Kacey Ruger finished eighth in the 4x400m relay. Their time of 4:28.18s was less than a second slower than the sixth and seventh place relay teams.
Finally, the 4x800m relay was run by Ruger, Abigail James, Cameron Powers and Alyssa McCalla. They finished in eighth place overall with a time of 11:18.16s, a personal best.
Coming up…
Next up for the Knights Track and Field team is the Gene Armer Invitational this Saturday, March 21 and held once again at the University of Illinois Armory. First events will begin at 11:30 a.m.
